A rejection message sent to an Israeli couple over AirBnB has gone viral due to the sender's vitriol towards his potential guests, despite not knowing anything about them other than their nationality. Ben Kelmer shared the message on Facebook, explaining that he and his wife were looking for accommodations for their upcoming trip to London.
He sent a short message to a potential renter, whose name was not revealed, explaining their schedule and asking about transportation. "The day you stop occupying someone's land, I might consider hosting you," the host wrote back. "This is how the world pictures you: aggressive settlers occupying lands, destroying houses. In a few words: not respecting basic human rights. On that basis, I cannot even consider hosting you, even if you pay me millions." The host knew nothing of the couple's political views or even where they live in Israel.
As Kelmer pointed out, even if the the criticisms were legitimate, the same logic would dictate that all Iranian citizens hang homosexuals and stone women. Fortunately, the bigoted host appears to be in a minority. The message has sparked an outpouring of support for Israel, including from many non-Jews. One person responded by saying, "Hey Ben, I'm English and I'm truly sorry you had this experience ! There are morons everywhere in the world and I'm sorry you had to deal with some of ours ! #racistidiots"
AirBnB is a popular website for advertising and finding short-term rentals. Some commentators have urged Kelmer and others to contact the site about the bigoted member. AirBnB's policies state that hosts "may accept or deny anyone who requests to stay at their place for any reason," although the website's official Facebook page commented on the post, expressing apologies for the experience and promising to look into the incident.